Outline - Objectives:
The term “Emerging Pollutants” (EPs) is referred to compounds that are not currently covered by existing water-quality regulations, have not been studied before, and are thought to be potential threats to the environment and human health. They encompass a diverse group of compounds, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, drugs of abuse (DoA), artificial sweeteners, industrial chemicals, synthetic and natural hormones and many more, mostly unknown. Until now, research was focused on the occurrence and fate of these chemicals in the environment, partially neglecting the occurrence of their (bio)transformation products (TPs). The proposed research focuses on the development of analytical tools based on liquid chromatography and advanced high resolution tandem mass spectrometry for the identification and quantitative determination of the TPs of various EPs classes. Methods for the targeted and nontargeted screening will be developed, combining different sample preparation procedures with different separation modes and two high resolution mass analyzers (Q-TOF and Orbitrap MS) for the identification of the most abundant TPs. Nontargeted screening will be performed using metabolomics strategies with the ultimate aim to map the "fingerprint" of influent and effluent wastewater in order to develop an early warning system to detect "change". Selected compounds will be studied further, focusing on general pharmaceuticals, psychoactive drugs, “new designer drugs” and artificial sweeteners. The formation of TPs of selected EPs during biological wastewater treatment will be studied in batch experiments. The effect of ozonation as tertiary treatment will be evaluated on the basis of efficient removal of EPs and formation of new TPs. The estimation of consumption of new designer drugs in the general population will be achieved by targeted analysis of the parent compounds and new TPs of these drugs in influent samples (environmental forensics).

"Thalis", Ministry of Education: INVESTIGATION OF ORGANIC MICROPOLLUTANTS' FATE IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND STUDY OF THEIR BEHAVIOR DURING WASTEWATER DISPOSAL TO THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT - WATERMICROPOL (2012 - 2015)

Outline - Objectives:
1. To develop analytical methodology for the determination of PFCs, BTs, BThzs in wastewater, sludge,
sediment and surface water samples.
2. To study the occurrence of PFCs, BTs, BThzs, EDCs, PhCs in WWTSs of Greece.
3. To study the behavior of several synthetic organic compounds which belong to different groups of
micropollutants (PFCs, BTs, EDCs, PhCs) and present different physicochemical characteristics (chemical
structure, molecular weight, polarity/hydrophobicity) during biological (aerobic, anaerobic) and
physicochemical wastewater treatment processes (chlorination, UV radiation).
4. To optimize treatment processes in order to achieve maximum removal of the target compounds with
simultaneous removal of conventional pollutants and to investigate the metabolites which are formed during
wastewater treatment.
5. To study the fate of EDCs, PhCs, PFCs and ΒΤs during disposal of treated wastewater to the aquatic
environment, to estimate the role of adsorption, biodegradation, photodegradation on their removal, to
identify the metabolites which are formed, to investigate the metabolic pathways which allow the formation
of specific metabolites using time-dependent toxicomics and to estimate the toxicity of parent compounds
and produced metabolites.

"NEW ENTERPRISES", General Secretariat of Research, GSRT: Identification of chemical and microbiological indices for seafood freshness and their implementation for the establishment of freshly-frozen claim (2012 - 2015)

Funding from advanced analytical services:

Major enterprises allocate to our laboratory the quality control of their products along with key tests for their environmental quality management. The analytical services concern:

Occurence of emerging pollutants in wastewater of STP of Athens - Evaluation of risk to the aquatic environment from reuse of treated wastewater (Water and Sewarage Company of Athens, 2010 - 2011) - Outline: Determination of 200 emerging pollutants (perfluorinated compounds, endocrine compounds, benzotriazoles, benzothiazoles, regulated, controlled and illicit drugs, and sweeteners) in wastewater and sludge. Estimation of risk quotients of measured concentrations for safe release in the aquatic environment. Investigation of technologies for their efficient removal from treated wastewater.

Kapodistrias 2009: Development of new methods for the determination of sulfonamides in food of animal origin by LC-MS/MS (University of Athens Research Fund, 2009 – 2010).

“AKMON”, GSRT: Development of the laboratory infrastructure for providing advanced services of food control and environmental management to enterprises (General Secretariat of Research and Technology, 2006 – 2008)

Kapodistrias 2006: Development of new methods for the determination of Bisphenol A in foods (University of Athens Research Fund, 2006 – 2008).

Method development and validation for the determination of pollutants in solid and liquid wastes of Public Power Corporation (Testing Research and Standards Center, Greek Public Power Corporation, 2005 – 2008)

“Pythagoras II”, EPEAEK: Investigation of toxicity and biodegradation in the marine environment of organic compounds used as booster biocides in antifouling paints (Ministry of Education, 2005 – 2007)

Kapodistrias 2004: Method development for the determination of metabolites of nitrofuran antibiotics in food of animal origin (University of Athens Research Fund, 2004-2005).

Monitoring program of the occurrence of micropollutants in the surface waters of Greece, catalogue II, substances candidate for catalogue I, 76/464 EEC Directive. P.I.: Prof. Th. Lekkas, University of the Aegean (Ministry of the Environment and Public Works, 1998-1999)

Monitoring program of the occurrence of micropollutants in the surface waters of Northern Greece, catalogue I, 76/464 EEC Directive. P.I.: Prof. Th. Lekkas, University of the Aegean (Ministry of the Environment and Public Works, 1998)

Determination of heavy metals in the atmospheric particulate matter (TSP και PM10) of Neorio Siros, Greece. P.I.: Prof. P. Siskos, University of Athens (Ministry of the Environment and Public Works, 1996-1997)

Network of monitoring the concentrations of VOCs and other non-conventional pollutants (metals, PAHs, acidic compounds) in the atmosphere of Greece. P.I.: Prof. P. Siskos, University of Athens (Ministry of the Environment and Public Works, 1995-1996)